Mazlum Çimen

Mazlum Çimen — Biography

Mazlum Çimen was born on 18 June 1958 in the village of Sevdilli in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş, the only child of Alevi folk bard Nesimi Çimen and Dilber Hanım, from a Tunceli family; his family later settled in Kadirli and then Istanbul. He studied violin and then ballet at the Istanbul State Conservatory, graduating from its ballet department in 1980-81 and joining the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. Touring villages with his father to collect folk songs drew him toward composing, and in 1989 his score for the play Yunus Emre at Diyarbakır State Theatre led him into film and television music.

He won numerous awards, including Golden Orange and Golden Boll prizes, for scores such as Mem û Zin, Soğuk Geceler, Işıklar Sönmesin, Gönlümdeki Köşk Olmasa and Nokta, and also acted in films and series including Hoşçakal Yarın, Anlat İstanbul, Yahşi Batı and Kağıt, joining the cast of Halef: Köklerin Çağrısı in 2025. He married folk singer Yasemin Göksu in 1982; their son, pianist Evrim Saki, was born in 1983, and the couple divorced in 1997. His father Nesimi Çimen was killed in the 1993 Sivas massacre when the Madımak Hotel was set on fire, and Çimen wrote the song "Sen Benden Gittin Gideli" in his memory. He continued working after suffering a heart attack in June 2024.